Chief Justice of India U.U. Lalit on Monday assured a litigant that a dedicated platform is being planned to livestream Supreme Court proceedings.
The Chief Justice’s remarks came a few days after Justice D.Y. Chandrachud, in a similar fashion, spoke in open court about the opening up of a Right to Information (RTI) portal.
These remarks by the two senior-most judges of the top court provided glimpses of a court edging closer and closer towards complete transparency.
Also read | SC resolves to live-stream Constitution Bench hearings
The move towards transparency can be traced over the past seven years, which have been rather tumultuous for the court. It, however, started with a big negative in 2015. The court struck down the National Judicial Appointments Commission (NJAC) Act and the 99th Constitutional Amendment in 2015, claiming “it is difficult to hold that the wisdom of appointment of judges can be shared with the political-executive”. But, the aftermath of the judgment also saw the court invite public opinion on ways to improve the opaque Collegium system of judicial appointments. That received over 11,500 views from the public. The ensuing months saw the Collegium publish its resolutions on the Supreme Court website, a practice that continues still.
Then came the unprecedented press conference held by four senior-most judges on January 12, 2018 to complain about “selective” allocation of sensitive cases by successive Chief Justices of India to certain Benches of the Supreme Court. This led to the publication of the first-ever “subjectwise roster” for allocation of cases a month later.
The same year saw the Supreme Court deliver its judgment agreeing to live-stream its proceedings. But the 2018 judgment was forced to lie dormant for years as successive Chief Justices remained hesitant to implement the court’s own verdict. That was the situation until the pandemic struck and the court was forced to radically change its way of functioning. It embraced technology, introduced videoconferencing and perfected the online system over the two years of COVID-19.
Recently, a letter from senior advocate Indira Jaising to Chief Justice Lalit, reminding him about the live-streaming judgment, saw a Full Court promptly gather on September 20 and agree to beam Constitution Bench proceedings live.
On Monday, Chief Justice Lalit brushed aside apprehensions raised by former BJP leader K.N. Govindacharya, through a writ petition, about the Supreme Court using YouTube as a medium for its webcast.
“These are the initial stages. We will certainly have our own dedicated platforms,” the Chief Justice said.
Also read | Draft Rules for live-streaming, recording of court proceedings out
Similarly, Justice Chandrachud assured advocate Prashant Bhushan last week that efforts were in full swing to establish an RTI portal for submission of petitions online. “This is really valuable,” Justice Chandrachud said. Presently, RTI pleas are e-mailed to the court.
The Supreme Court’s relationship with RTI had not been easy in the past years. Its Registry had fought tooth and nail in the Delhi High Court and later in appeal in the apex court itself about opening up the Chief Justice of India’s office to the transparency law.
In 2019, a Constitution Bench settled the issue, declaring that the Office of the Chief Justice of India (CJI) was a 'public authority' under the RTI Act. Justice Sanjiv Khanna wrote in the judgment that "transparency and accountability go hand-in-hand". Justice Chandrachud, in a concurring opinion, had observed that “judicial independence is not secured by the secrecy of cloistered halls”.
